Song of Light and Dark
by TheRev28
Summary: Adeen Flanagan has just been reborn in the Light. What she does now is up to her. Where will her choices lead her? Will they bring her closer to the Light, or send her spiraling into the Darkness?
1. Birth of a Star

**Birth of a Star**

Nothing.

Nothing was everything. It permeated all that was, all that is, and all that will be.

Something changed. The fact that there even was "something" was a change. There was no longer nothing, all because of a single voice emanating from the void.

"Is it possible?" A pause. "There you are."

A flash. The birth of a thousand trillion suns condensed into a single Planck second. A flood of Light where once there was nothing. A searing fire that burned away the void. A consciousness returning after countless years.

A billionth heartbeat, a quarter of that in breaths, yet these were firsts. New firsts. Second firsts.

Adeen Flanagan opened her eyes for the first time in a few centuries (though she wasn't aware of this at the time). What she saw was...unexpected, to say the least. It looked like a floating small stellated dodecahedron, but it had a light in the center that almost looked like an eye. Its two halves rotated around, and Adeen could almost interpret it as a kind of facial expression. What was this thing? It almost looked like something from the Traveler, but that couldn't be it. The Traveler's creations were more elegant and intrinsically beautiful. However, she thought she could discern a spark of Light within it, though in all her years, she had never seen so little in one place. Before she could think any further, it surprised her. It spoke.

"Guardian?" it said. "Guardian, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can hear you," Adeen said. "Though I'm not exactly sure what 'you' are."

"I'm a Ghost. In fact, I'm your Ghost."

Adeen scoffed. "Ghosts aren't real, just a tale to frighten children. Now tell me what you really are."

"I'm a Ghost. Born from the Traveler, tasked with seeking out a Guardian to defend its Light. You are my Guardian, and I am your Ghost."

Wait, born from the Traveler? Adeen's brows furrowed. That couldn't be right. She had seen almost every piece of technology the Traveler had to offer. None of it had been even remotely similar to this...this Ghost.

For the first time, Adeen looked at her surroundings. It was very obviously her lab at the Ishtar Collective, but it looked decrepit: splotches of rust covered the walls, tables and chairs knocked over, junk strewn all around, and vegetation attempting to reclaim its natural habitat. She looked back at the Ghost.

"How long?" she asked.

"I do not - "

"How. Long."

It did that spinning thing again. Maybe it really was a sort of "facial" expression. Apprehension? Worry? No matter; she'd deal with that question later.

"A few centuries," it said. "It's difficult know exactly. Records from before the Collapse are shoddy at best."

Adeen's mind reeled. Centuries. It said centuries. But how?

"Ghost, tell me everything," she said, giving the thing a Look she normally used on her research assistants.

Before it could answer, she heard a loud crash from down the hall.

"Vex. We have to leave now." The Vex. Adeen had hear the name. Even though she was an astrophysicist, the entire Collective knew about the Vex. Her friend Maya Sundaresh and a few others had been studying them. The Ghost pulled her back to the present. "I can fabricate you some rudimentary armor and a simple bond, but we need to find you a weapon."

Before she knew what was happening, her decaying clothes were replaced by a pair of boots and pants, a simple robe, gloves, and a helmet. There was also some sort of band around her left upper arm. The Ghost seemed to dissolve out of existence, but she heard its voice a second later.

"Don't worry, I'm still here. We need to find a jumpship and get you to the Tower. I can answer your questions once we're safe."

"Fine, but I'm holding you to that," Adeen said. "The Collective has a small hangar just a few buildings over that might have something."

"Then whenever you're ready," it said. "I'll keep on the lookout for a weapon."

"But I've never held a gun in my life."

"Don't worry, I taught you when I brought you back. Once it's in your hands, it should feel like second nature."

"Whatever you say," she muttered.

Before she could take a step, the air in front of her seemed to digitize and shimmer with an unsettling red light. Then the creature appeared. It stood half a foot taller than Adeen and was vaguely humanoid, but it was made of metal. Its "face" consisted of a single red eye, and its head looked like an old dish antenna. Its stomach contained some sort of white liquid that shimmered and pulsed as it flowed inside.

For a moment, Adeen was rooted in place. She couldn't move. This...thing, this Vex, was going to kill her. Was she really brought back only to die again?

No.

A spark ignited deep within her, sending fire coursing through her veins. She looked at her hands and saw they were covered in golden flame. A power gathered in the palm of her hand, and, not really knowing why, she thrust her hand out toward the Vex in front of her. Flame danced across the short distance between them and impacted the Vex, setting it ablaze. Within moments, it disintegrated.

Adeen stood there for a few moments, and eventually, the fire in her veins subsided. She took a few deep breaths. "Ghost, what was that?"

"That was your Radiance," it said. "You carry within you the power of the stars themselves. You have the heart of a star. There are flames that even the Darkness cannot extinguish."

Adeen smiled, the first one of her new life. "I like the sound of that. A star in my heart and another on my shoulder. Do you have a name, Ghost?"

"I do not."

"Then I'll call you Rigel. My own little star. Now let's go find a ship so you can finally explain what's going on."

She left the room and looked up and down the hallway. It was in the same state as her lab. She was tempted to look around, but the sound of more Vex on the way made her reconsider. Until she got a weapon, she wasn't confident in her abilities to defend herself. The only thing that saved her earlier was her Radiance, and she had absolutely no idea how she even did that in the first place.

Adeen hurried through the building, and just before she reached the courtyard, Rigel spoke up.

"Wait, there's a weapon nearby," it said. "Hand cannon: good stopping power, low rate of fire."

"I'll take all I can get," Adeen said. "Where is it?"

Rigel didn't say anything, but a waypoint appeared on her heads up display. It was in the next room. She hurried over to it and picked it up. The weight felt comfortable in her hands despite never having held a gun in her life. Her hands went through the motions of inspecting the weapon without bothering to consult her brain first. Once her mind grew accustomed to holding a gun, she continued on.

The connecting courtyard thankfully held no enemies, and she quickly entered the next building. The hangar was on the other end. Unfortunately, the building wasn't as empty as the courtyard.

A Vex warped in at the far end of the hallway, looking away from her. Once again, her hands acted without conscious thought. She sighted a Vex head and pulled the trigger. The Vex staggered but quickly recovered, now focusing on her. She fired again, and this one blew off its head. That only seemed to make it angry, and it charged at her, firing it weapon. Adeen panicked and started shooting wildly, missing the next three shots. The Vex, however, managed to land quite a few shots on her shields. She flinched but was too scared to do anything but stand there and shoot. Finally, enough bullets hit their mark, and the Vex crumpled to the ground.

Adeen stood, rooted to that spot, long after the Vex fell dead. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her breath came in ragged gasps.

Rigel appeared in front of her. "Are you okay, Guardian?"

"It's 'Adeen.'"

"What?"

"My name is Adeen Flanagan. And I don't know. I'm an astrophysicist not a fighter. You may have given me the knowledge to use a gun, but I'm still me. You didn't give me the knowledge of how to deal with being shot at. So no, I don't think I'm okay. But I'm getting to that ship because I need answers."

Rigel stayed quiet, which surprised her. Eventually, though, he did speak up.

"I knew I chose correctly."

Adeen didn't know how to respond to that. So she took a few more deep breaths and continued on.

The rest of the building continued smoother than that first encounter. Firefights were still difficult, but at least she didn't freeze up anymore. After almost half an hour of fighting through the building, she finally reached the hangar. Against all odds, there was a ship still there that was still salvageable.

"Alright, Rigel, I hope you can fly this thing because I definitely can't," Adeen said once the minor repairs were done.

"Of course," Rigel said. "I can even teach you on the way."

"Then let's go. I need some answers."

 **A/N: Hey guys, so I recently descended into full-on Destiny OC hell. I decided to start writing her stories. Not much else to say, really.**


	2. Exile's Journal

**Exile's Journal**

The Moon.

During her first life, it had been a boring place: the place where a scientist ended up if they couldn't succeed anywhere else. The place where their careers went to die.

Now, it was a place where young Guardians went to die. At the moment, it seemed Adeen was about to become the latest in a long string of Guardians who got in way over their heads.

After all the trouble she'd been through since escaping Venus, she was very annoyed that it was going to end like this. Her hand cannon finally ran out of ammo, and there were still plenty of thralls charging her. She meleed as many as she could, her Flame Shield offering a brief respite, but she wasn't paying attention to what she was hitting. That proved fatal when she accidentally hit a cursed thrall.

The explosion sent Adeen flying through the air, only to land on her back and knock the wind from her lungs. She tried to get up, but the thrall swarmed her in an instant. Claws ripped through her armor, sending arc burns across any flesh they encountered. A mass of eyeless faces filled her vision. A seething fury coursed through her veins, but she was physically incapable of releasing it. As the last vestiges of life and Light left her body, she didn't feel pain.

All she felt was anger.

Adeen found herself in a familiar nothingness. But it couldn't be nothing; she was there. She still felt her consciousness suspended in the void. But most of all, she still felt the anger. In a final act of desperation, she focused all her rage into a fiery singularity.

A supernova exploded in the void, and from it sprang life. Adeen's life to be precise.

Like a phoenix being born from its own ashes, Adeen reappeared in the midst of the very thralls that had just killed her. Gliding into the air above the mindless enemies, she rained Solar Grenades down upon them. Any thrall caught within that heavenly fire was incinerated down to its very quarks.

At last, she returned to the surface, her Radiance depleted. Her radar showed no signs of enemies nearby. After scanning the area to make sure, she slumped to the ground, gasping for air.

"Rigel, mind telling me what the hell just happened?" she asked between breaths.

"You activated your Radiance from beyond the grave," it - he - said. "It's a technique that takes most Sunsingers years to learn and even longer to perfect. Fireborn. It's said that the elite members of the Praxic Order are immune to death itself."

"Heh. I like the sound of that. But I doubt I could do it again anytime soon. I'll just refrain from dying anytime soon."

"Good idea. After all the trouble I went through to find you, I couldn't have you dying on me so soon."

"Very funny, little star," Adeen said. "Now come on, let's - " Something caught her eye out in the distance: a small glint against the otherwise dull grey rock. She walked towards it, leaving Rigel to catch up.

It was a Ghost. Its Light, what little there was to start, was almost gone. Adeen picked it up, careful not to damage it any further.

"It's dying," Rigel said. "But I can recover the message it's carrying before its Light fades." Adeen simply nodded. After a moment, the Ghost in her hand faded away into the void. She held a moment of silence, hoping that its Light would find its way back to the Traveler.

Eventually, she spoke. "What was the message?"

"A journal entry from someone named Toland, the Shattered. I'll read it to you, but it's a bit long.

" _I drive myself to the edge of madness trying to explain the truth._

" _It's so simple. Elegant like a knife point. It explains - this is not hyperbole, this is the farthest thing from exaggeration - EVERYTHING._

" _But you lay it out and they stare at you like you've just been exhaling dust. Maybe they're missing some underlying scaffold of truth. Maybe they are all propped on a bed of lies that must be burned away."_

A few minutes later, the journal entry ended. Adeen had sat down half way through, unable to trust her legs to hold her against the onslaught of information. It sounded like the ravings of a madman, but at the same time, his message spoke to her. She couldn't explain why, but suddenly she needed to know more about this man, hear more of what he had to say. She found truth in his words.

"Come on, Ri," she said, standing back up. "Let's go back to the Tower."

"But we haven't completed the Order's assignment yet."

"We can do that later. I think this could be very important."

####################

Adeen walked into the Vanguard Hall and came to stand in front of Ikora Rey. Ikora continued reading whatever it was on her desk, ignoring Adeen for a solid 30 seconds. Adeen just stood there and waited. She had interrupted Ikora once, and it would never happen again. Finally, the Warlock Vanguard put down the report and looked up at one of her newest Guardians.

"Adeen. I thought you'd still be on the Moon fulfilling your assignment."

"I found something there that I wanted information on, and I come asking as a fellow member of the Order, not one of your Guardians."

Ikora narrowed her eyes. "Go on."

"I found a journal entry on a dying Ghost. The journal apparently belonged to someone named Toland, the Shattered." Ikora's jaw clenched at the name. "It appears you recognize the name."

"Of course I do, though I'm not surprised you don't," Ikora said. "We normally refrain from speaking of him, but as an initiate of the Order, I will tell you. Toland was a Warlock many years ago, during our attempt to the Moon. He made it his life's work to study the Hive, and, in short, it drove him mad."

"Where might I find his other writings?" Adeen asked. Ikora gave the younger woman a Look.

"Not here, Guardian. Toland was exiled and his works made forbidden. Some fragments may yet remain in the wild, as you found, but I doubt a complete catalog of his writings exist anywhere."

"Thank you, Sister. If I may be excused, I shall finish my assignment."

"You are dismissed, Initiate," Ikora said. Adeen turned around, but before she left the room, Ikora spoke again. "Do yourself a favor and forget you ever heard of him. You show promise, and I would hate to see that wasted."

"I'm sorry, I cannot do that."

Up till now, Adeen had been wandering aimlessly through her new life. She had a very obvious purpose - defend against the forces of the Darkness - but she had no motivation driving her. Toland had known something, she was sure of it. Something so profound that it drove him mad.

She vowed to uncover his secrets.


	3. Vision of Thorns

**A/N: So I forgot to mention last chapter, but this story is going to be more of a series of oneshots as opposed to a fully strung together story. There will often times be time skips between chapters, and I'll try to let that be known in the text. There was a few weeks in between the first two chapters, which I never really made explicit. I'll do better from now on.**

 **Vision of Thorns**

Well, step one was finished. Adeen wasn't exactly sure how, but it was finished.

Now came the hard part: the interrogation.

Ever since she had found that entry from Toland's journal six months ago, Adeen had hardly left the moon. At first, she scoured every inch of the Ocean of Storms, searching for more journal fragments. It had very limited success. After that, she took to watching the various entrances into the Hive catacombs, picking off whatever Hive came out to guard it. This also had limited success. Eventually, she ventured into the catacombs themselves.

While this was extremely dangerous and advised against by all of her peers, it did yield better results. In her first two trips, she found small excerpts from Toland's journal: a feat which would have taken weeks on the surface. Not only that, but the journal fragments got larger and more complete the further down she went.

Then, a month ago, Adeen had her greatest find since the one that started it all: another complete journal entry. Whereas the first had dealt with the nature of the universe in general, this one had focused on the Hive. His words terrified her, but they also fascinated her.

 _If your Light is strong enough to hear across the soundless plains, you may have heard their screams… Four sounds, oft repeated, but only four. Though I am on the trail of a fifth, faintly heard from the buzz that once spilled from the Shrine—_

 _Eir._

 _Ur._

 _Xol._

 _Yul._

 _It is in these sounds that I fear yet another Hive secret hides… But then again, I am an old man with many fears, and in those fears , often called madness, I will continue to dwell._

It had been strange, having someone else give voice to a feeling she had been having for weeks, but as soon as it was explained, she understood. So far she had only heard whispers of Ur and Yul, but now she knew what to listen for.

A week ago, she found something that had nothing to do with Toland but was exactly what she needed. It was a dead Ghost deep in the Hellmouth that contained a recording of an old Warlock, Eriana-3, as she interrogated a Hive Wizard. The idea that one could capture a Wizard had never crossed Adeen's mind, but once she listened to the audio log, it seemed so obvious.

A plan began forming in her mind. What if she could capture a Wizard and interrogate it about Toland? Surely the Hive would know something about their greatest enemy.

So now she had a Wizard. Surprisingly, that wasn't expected to be the hardest part. In the recording, Eriana had used pain to elicit a response. Unfortunately, Adeen didn't know what kind of pain. She knew their shields were very weak against solar damage, but she was worried solar would do too much damage. Maybe arc was the way to go. She had an arc machine gun that could do the trick. Mind made up, Adeen took a moment to mentally prepare herself. Once she felt ready, she fired a few rounds into the helpless Wizard.

"Monster, heed me," she said, using Eriana's phrasing. "Tell me all you know about the one known as Toland, the Shattered."

The Wizard shrieked. The noise assaulted Adeen's ears, loud enough to cause physical pain. She turned off the audio receptors in her helmet, only to find that the unholy noise was inside her mind. She tried fighting past it, knowing that the true message would lie in the void between shrieks, but she couldn't. The abominable noise resonated throughout her entire body, exciting the very atoms that formed her. She felt like she was being rent apart molecule by molecule. She couldn't take it. She had to end it.

Adeen threw a Fusion Grenade that stuck the Wizard in the face. The explosion turned the abomination into a pile of ash, and the most intense relief Adeen had ever felt washed over her. It was in that instant, that single moment of silence, that Adeen saw something in her mind's eye.

Unfortunately, what she saw wasn't what she wanted to know. Instead, she saw flashes of a gun—a hand cannon—deep in the catacombs. She had seen the place in a book: the Summoning Pits. The gun itself looked...evil: black and jagged with an ethereal green glow.

It looked hungry.

As quickly as the image arrived, it disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Rigel asked, appearing in front of her. Adeen didn't answer. "Adeen?" Still nothing. "Adeen, can you—"

"Yes, Ri, I can hear you."

"What happened?"

"I saw...something," she said. "But it wasn't Toland. It was a gun. A hand cannon. It was down in the Summoning Pits."

"A hand cannon? Why would the Wizard show you that?"

"I'm not sure, but now I want answers. Let's head back to the Tower."

"Finally," Rigel said, and she could hear the teasing smile in his voice. "Master Kenval is probably worried sick."

"Please, that old Awoken bastard hasn't felt emotions in 50 years. Now come on; let's get out of here."

####################

Master Kenval, leader of the Praxic Order, looked up from his desk.

"Ah, Initiate Flanagan," he said, seeing Adeen standing there. "How nice of you to take a break from your little Moon vacation to visit us. You know, you could have been a full Sister by now if you actually put forth the effort. But I digress. You are obviously here for a reason, so tell me: What is it you need?"

"I need to know about a gun," she said.

"A gun? My dear, I hardly believe that you would come to me for just a gun."

"This is...different. I saw it in a vision, just long enough to get a what and a where. This gun looked...strange. It was a hand cannon, all black with jagged edges, and it had this aura about it that I can't describe. It was in the Summoning Pits."

Kenval's expression darkened. "You speak of evil things, my dear," he said. "From the sound of it, you saw a Weapon of Sorrow, a weapon born from the twisted use of the Hive's arcane arts. And from the description, you saw one of the worst: Thorn—a sinister corruption of the Traveler's Light." He paused and gave Adeen a questioning look. "And you say you saw it in a vision?"

Adeen fidgeted a little. "Well, technically, a Wizard showed it to me."

A pregnant silence grew.

"A Wizard," Kenval said after a while. She nodded. "Now tell me, why did a Wizard plant this image in your mind?"

Adeen didn't really see the point in lying to her Master, so she decided to just tell him. "I may have captured it and tried to interrogate it."

Another silence.

"Interrogate it."

"Yes."

Silence.

"Adeen, that may be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard someone doing. But now that that's out of the way, tell me: Were you successful?"

"Not really," Adeen said, sighing. "I managed to capture one, but when I questioned it, it just shrieked. My head felt like it would explode, so I killed it. In the instant of silence that followed, I saw the weapon, this Thorn."

"Fascinating. That last Guardian to ever attempt this was Eriana-3 during the assault to retake the Moon."

"That's where I got the idea. I found a recording of it on a dead Ghost in the Hellmouth. Now, could you tell me more about Thorn?"

"It belonged to a man named Dredgen Yor, a former Guardian corrupted by the Hive's darkness," Kenval said. "Beyond that, not much is known. Many innocent lives were snuffed out by that infernal gun. Some even believe Yor used it to kill the famous Hunter, Jaren Ward. Whatever you believe, that gun is undeniably evil." He paused and narrowed his eyes. "And you're going to look for it, aren't you?"

"I am."

Kenval sighed. "Then I know there's nothing I can say that will stop you. Sister Rey told me how stubborn you were. Very well. I cannot offer you my blessing on this endeavor, but I can offer you good luck. If you're not dead when this is all over, we should discuss your membership in the Order. Goodbye, Initiate." And with that, Master Kenval returned his attention to the papers on his desk.

Adeen left his office. As she walked away, Rigel appeared on her shoulder.

"So I take it we're headed into the Summoning Pits?" he asked.

"That's the plan."

####################

"I don't think I like this plan!" Rigel yelled over the shrieks of the Wizards.

"Well I'd love to hear a better one!" Adeen said, diving to the side to avoid a barrage of arc blasts. She threw a desperation grenade that somehow found its mark, killing one of the Wizards.

She had managed to make it to the Summoning Pits without too much trouble, but things had gone downhill since. She had found a Wizard floating around...something, so she had started shooting it. Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed the other three.

With the one she just killed, there were two left. That wouldn't normally be a problem if it were just Wizards. Unfortunately, they had friends. A lot of friends.

The whole fight took half an hour. She had Radianced three times, including once from beyond the grave. It still wasn't something she could do consistently, but she was slowly getting better at it.

Once she caught her breath, Adeen walked over to the thing that first Wizard had been floating around. Whatever it was, it was grotesque: a large mass of flesh. It had no real shape, but it pulsed slightly and gave off a vibe of pure hatred. Maybe this was the start of an Ogre being created?

Whatever it was, she knew she had to destroy it. With a few shots of her hand cannon, the thing burst, and it almost made Adeen throw up. She had never seen anything so disgusting, and that was even with spending six months fighting Hive. As she turned away, something caught her eye: a black shape sitting in the lump.

Hesitantly, she walked over and touched the object. She recoiled, snatching her hand away as if burnt. Adeen had never felt such concentrated evil. In fact, it went beyond that. This was no passive force of darkness. Whatever that object was, it hated her.

After a few minutes, she tried again. This time, she managed to keep her hand on it for ten seconds before pulling away. The next time, over a minute. The fourth time, she tried removing it from the destroyed flesh. When she did, she finally understood.

It was Thorn.


	4. Hunger of Darkness

**A/N: No time skip on this one. Picks up right where last chapter left off.**

 **Hunger of Darkness**

It took an hour for Adeen to be able to pick up Thorn for more than 10 minutes. She tried to force her will upon it, to subdue its unrelenting hatred, but her Light wasn't strong enough. All she could do was defend herself against its darkness. Hopefully she was strong enough for that.

At one point, she tried to fire it, but nothing happened. It was almost like it refused to shoot. Its hunger intensified, pushing to the forefront.

Eventually a Wizard found her, and she quickly holstered Thorn and drew her own hand cannon. It was a fairly easy fight—Fusion Grenades worked wonders against Wizards. Strangely, as its death shriek faded away, Thorn's hunger diminished an infinitesimal amount.

Adeen didn't spend time wondering about it because the Wizard reminded her that she was still, in fact, in the Summoning Pits. It was a wonder that it took that long for an enemy to show up.

She slowly made her way back to the surface, and every time she killed a Hive, she felt Thorn's hunger decrease. Even when she killed a few lost Fallen who wandered too far into the catacombs, the hunger lessened. However, the longer she went without killing, the more its hunger returned.

As Adeen neared the surface, she started hearing...things. A skittering just beyond the edge of her vision, a distant scream from some unknown creature, silent weeping all around her. Then, in the void between the sounds, she heard it.

" _Yor."_

The word sent a jolt down her spine. Thorn seemed to grow hot as if it had also reacted to the whisper. Its rage, previously overshadowed by its hunger, immediately sprung to the forefront. Adeen felt terror. How could an object become the focal point of enough darkness to become its physical embodiment?

She had to get back to the Tower. Maybe proximity to the Traveler could suppress Thorn's darkness. At the very least, she could find someone to talk to. The only question was who. Ikora Rey? No, she wouldn't understand Adeen's choice to seek the weapon out. Master Kenval? No, he had already said he couldn't support her actions. Maybe the Speaker? Theoretically, if anyone would have an answer, it was him.

Mind made up and finally on the surface, she warped up to her ship and set a course for The City. The trip seemed longer than normal. Adeen wasn't sure why. There was a feeling, a noise just barely out of earshot. It wormed its way into her head, tickling the edges of her perception. Finally, she took Thorn out of its holster and placed it underneath her seat. The noise instantly disappeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She made a mental note: Just because she could hold Thorn for extended periods didn't mean she should. It worried her, to say the least, that this gun had such an effect on her. Hopefully the Speaker would have answers.

When she finally landed on the Tower, she hurried to the Speaker's chambers. Thorn was back in its holster, and Adeen worried she might not have much time before it got to her again.

"Well met, Guardian," the Speaker said as she approached. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"I seek your council, Speaker," Adeen said, adopting a slightly more formal tone. "I have found what I believe to be an artifact of great power, and I would appreciate your guidance in the matter.

"I will offer what wisdom I may. Please, show me the artifact."

Adeen withdrew Thorn from its holster and presented it to the Speaker. Even though his face was hidden, his body language spoke volumes; he was frightened.

"Do you know what you hold in your hands, Guardian?" he asked.

"I believe it to be the Weapon of Sorrow, Thorn."

"If you knew that, then you are either very brave or very suicidal. However…" He moved closer to inspect the weapon. "Something seems...different. I would expect such an infamous weapon to be projecting more darkness."

For some reason, that statement hit Adeen like a sniper shot. It should be darker than it already was? How was that possible? It was already the single most evil thing she had ever encountered. The Speaker continued on, unaware of the effect his words had had on her.

"It feels empty, like a husk of what it should be. Tell me, how did you find this?"

Adeen quickly recapped the events that led her to the Summoning Pits. "When it was over, I found a pile of flesh sitting there on the ground. It was grotesque, so I destroyed it. Thorn was sat inside."

"Interesting. I believe the Wizards were trying to create an Ogre by leeching away the darkness and hatred contained within Thorn. The weapon you now carry is but a shell of its former self. What have you noticed while possessing it?

"It...it hungers," Adeen said.

"Hungers for what?" the Speaker asked.

 _Everything._ "The Hive. I think it hates them."

"Then perhaps we can return this instrument of sorrow to the Light. Feed its hunger, Guardian. Fight the Hive, and when you feel its hunger is sated, return to me."

"Thank you for your wisdom and guidance, Speaker," Adeen said. She turned around to leave. As she descended the stairs, she heard the Speaker.

"Light be with you, Guardian."

 _Light be with me,_ she thought. Will the Light be enough to contain something so evil? She sincerely hoped so. If not, it would be the death of her. Or worse.

####################

Three months. Adeen spent three long months on the Moon, mercilessly hunting Hive. She may be mad, following in Toland's footsteps closer than she had intended. She heard the whispers.

 _Eir. Ur. Xol. Yul._

Eventually, she heard traces of a fifth: _Yût._

That one came with something else. Just hints, and those hints contained notes to a song of such unimaginable power. A song of such totality even in its fragments that to hear its whole would mean the end.

The end of what? She didn't dare consider.

Thousands of Hive fell, yet Thorn was insatiable. Its gluttony so absolute that even Light could not escape.

Then one day—no different from any other—it ended. Its hunger vanished. The whispers stopped. The song, inching ever closer to its crescendo, ceased. The silence deafened her. She couldn't think coherently without the constant background noise permeating her mind.

Adeen fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Never in her life had she experienced something so wonderful. Months of torment over. As coherence returned, she realized she didn't have much time. The longer she had gone without killing, the more Thorn's hunger had increased. Who knew how long she had before its hunger might return now that it was gone?

She hurried back to the Tower. When she finally stood before the Speaker, he greeted her warmly.

"Guardian, I am happy to see you return safely," he said. "Tell me, has Thorn's hunger been sated?"

"I believe so, Speaker," Adeen said. She took the weapon out and gave it to him. He examined it for a few moments.

"Yes, I do believe you are correct." He paused and looked closer at Adeen. "Though I feel a change in you. Your Light has dimmed since last we spoke. It would seem even an empty husk of something so evil still has the power to corrupt." He took another moment to study her. "However, it has not yet claimed you completely, Guardian. Be thankful for that. I can stop the blight from spreading. But you must cleanse the weapon, and yourself, with an infusion of Light."

Adeen reached into her back and withdrew a small shimmering orb. "I obtained this Mote of Light while on the Moon. Will this do?"

"Yes, it will do nicely." The Speaker took the mote and the weapon. The mote seemed to liquify, and it slowly flowed over towards Thorn. Before her very eyes, the Light seeped into the tainted weapon. It glowed blindingly bright for an instant, and when the light subsided, something was different. Aesthetically, nothing had changed, but the overwhelming aura of hatred and darkness was gone. Well, not quite gone. More subdued, overpowered by the infusion of Light.

Not only did Thorn seem different, but Adeen also felt changed. She felt like some unknown bond had been severed, and a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She felt her Light grow brighter.

"The infusion was a success, Guardian," the Speaker said. "I can already sense the blight diminishing."

"Thank you so much, Speaker," Adeen said from the bottom of her heart. "Even more than when my Ghost found me, I feel reborn." She paused and looked at Thorn, still in the Speaker's hand. "What will happen to it now?"

"Its bond to the Darkness has been severed. By all rights, Thorn is now yours." He held Thorn out to her, and she took it reverently. "You are being entrusted with an enormous power; use it wisely."

"I will, Speaker. Again, thank you."

With Thorn at her hip (and not trying to corrupt her), Adeen felt rejuvenated to continue her search for Toland's teachings. Thorn had taught her a valuable lesson about the power of the Hive, but now she had a way to fight back, to rend the very creatures from which the gun had spawned.

" _To rend one's enemies is to see them not as equals, but objects - hollow of spirit and meaning."_

This wasn't entirely true. The Hive had meaning. They were meant to die by her hand.


	5. Making Friends

**A/N: So this chapter finally makes it apparent that Adeen and the rest of this story exists within a fairly large OC-headcanon-universe-thing that I have with a bunch of friends. Basically, all our OCs exist in the same universe and very often interact. (In fact, most of them are part of the same fireteam. Adeen's just a loner.) While I'll try to write my stories in such a way that you won't _have_ to read any other stories, just be aware that they do exist. You can find all the info over at: fireteamselfie . tumblr . com**

 **Anywho, that's enough of that. On to the story!**

 **Making Friends**

Adeen was farther than she had ever been. Still, the Hellmouth went deeper. She must have traveled miles, but the bottom was still nowhere in sight. She was trying to follow in the footsteps of one of Toland's expeditions into the darkness, to a place he called The Worms' Hollow.

Thorn's distinctive report rang out, catching an acolyte in the leg before it gained cover. Adeen kept walking, untroubled by the enemy she left behind her. After a few seconds, she heard the acolyte disintegrate and turn to ash, victim of Thorn's poison.

"Incoming transmission from the Speaker," Rigel said, appearing on her shoulder.

"Attention all Guardians," the Speaker said, his voice filtering into her helmet. "I have an important announcement to make. A team of your fellow Guardians, led by the Vanguards, has fought its way to the Heart of the Black Garden and destroyed it. Even now, I feel the Traveler stir as the Darkness' hold has been broken. This has been a tremendous victory, but the fight is not over. Stay vigilant, Guardians. Do not let your Light waver. Seek the Darkness and drive it out. Together, we can bring about a second Golden Age."

Adeen absentmindedly shot a thrall as the Speaker's little speech came to an end. So the crazy assault had actually worked. About a week ago, Ikora had begrudgingly asked Adeen if she wanted to take part in it, but she had refused. Her place was here on the Moon, hunting Toland's secrets. He had been on the cusp of something, some important discovery, but then he vanished.

In the four months since she acquired Thorn, she had resumed her hunt for the truth. While she would never know when she found all his journal fragments, she couldn't help but feel like she had found one of, if not the, last entries.

 _The sword binds wielder to victim. It binds life to death. And when the binding is done—the sword remembers. When the Boomer's fire has burnt away into axion and neutrino scatter, the sword goes on, hungrier and sharper._

 _Understand that this nightmare logic underpins His nightmare world, and you will see why the ascendant blade has so much power there. Whenever in our passage we find ourselves in need of power—remember that the greatest authority here is a blade made keen by eons of use._

It raised so many questions. Who was "He" and where was this nightmare world? What passage was Toland talking about? A journey? A quest? She had a few guesses about the who and the where, but she couldn't be sure because the old madman had never given a straight answer in his life.

By her best guess, the being in question was either Oryx or his son, Crota. If she had to choose one, she'd say Crota because of the sword discussion that preceded it. As for the nightmare world, she could only speculate.

It was infuriating. Toland kept mentioning vague hints of a threat looming, but none of the fragments she had found gave name to it. That was why she refused Ikora's offer. While Adeen recognized the threat of the Black Garden, she felt that Toland hinted at something far greater.

She heard faint echoes of a song, seeming to emanate from somewhere impossibly deep within the catacombs. Adeen knew the song all too well, or at least the start of it. It was the very song she had heard while feeding Thorn, and even though the weapon's hunger had been sated, she could still hear it if she spent too long in the dark below.

"I hear it, Ri," she said.

Rigel appeared in front of her. "It's only been a few weeks. It's getting faster," he said, sounding worried.

"I know, I know." Adeen paused and took a deep breath. "I think it may be time to take an extended break from the Moon. The song comes quicker while new discoveries grow farther apart." She gave him a small smile, but it held no mirth. "Master Kenval will be overjoyed. I can finally devote some time to the Order. Still, it's too bad we didn't find anything this trip."

Rigel turned away from her for a second before looking back. "Don't be too sure about that." Before she could say anything, he flew away. Adeen hurried after him.

Just around the next curve, she found Rigel floating above a skeleton that had a dead Ghost and—were those robes? As Ri read off the dead Ghost's message, she inspected the robes. They were a muddy-red with gold trim. The chest was plated with armor and the coattails had complex geometric patterns on them. The belt buckle was undone, and for some reason, she took a moment to inspect it. The front was normal, but the back held a message scratched into the metal.

 _YOU WILL DREAM OF TEETH AND NOTHING ELSE._

Adeen stared at the message. The words were haunting, bespeaking a sort of feral terror in the former owner.

"Did you get that?" Rigel asked.

"Hmm?" Adeen said, looking up at him. "Sorry, I spaced out. Read it again?"

" _Eriana! Let's sing. Sing with me. No, no, you rattling machine, not yet, it's too soon: we don't know the words._

" _We'll learn the song down there. We can learn it from Her. She comes up from the deep dark places where the greater Hive await to sing it to us, and here's a puzzle for you—_

"It cuts out after that."

"It sure sounds like Toland," Adeen said. "And where have I heard the name 'Eriana' before?"

"She was the Warlock who interrogated a Wizard during the attempt to recapture the Moon."

"So they knew each other? That's good to know. Ikora and Kenval seem very reluctant to tell me about Toland, but maybe I can learn more about him by learning more about Eriana. Good find, Ri. Now let's get out of here. The song is getting louder."

####################

Once she returned to the Tower, she stopped by the Speaker to have him inspect the robes she found. She'd had enough evil items for one lifetime, and if these showed even the slightest hint of darkness, she was getting rid of them. Thankfully, according to the Speaker, these robes were clean of any taint. That was a relief. Now that she wouldn't go crazy wearing them, she went over to Eva, the Guardian Outfitter, to have them fitted correctly. Not long after, Adeen walked away wearing a new set of robes. Good thing, too; her old set had been getting old.

A few days later, Adeen was still at the Tower. It was the longest she had stayed there at one time, and she was already starting to go a little stir crazy. As it was, she entertained herself by finding and reading every scrap of information that the Order, the Vanguard, and the Cryptarchs had on the Hive. Most of it was stuff she had learned first-hand already, but a few tidbits proved insightful.

Right now, she sat in the Guardian barracks, trying to figure out some sort of chronological order for the fragments she had of Toland's Journal. Considering the old lunatic apparently didn't know how to put a date on anything, it proved quite difficult. She based everything on the evolution of his voice and, by extension, his madness.

Adeen heard some footsteps nearby, but paid no attention. She was in the barracks, after all. People came and went all the time.

"Excuse me," a voice said from right in front of her. Adeen looked up and saw an Awoken woman standing in front of her. The other woman had the usual purple skin, accompanied by shoulder-length purple hair, light blue eyes, and blue-ish lips. "Are you Adeen Flanagan?"

"I am," Adeen said slowly. This was new. People didn't normally seek her out. In fact, she didn't think any of her peers even knew who she was. "What do you need?"

"This may seem like a strange request, but I need someone to guide me through the Hive catacombs on the Moon."

"And you decided to come to me?"

"Well, I asked Ikora Rey, and she said you were the resident Hive expert," the woman said. Really? Ikora had really said that?

"Well, she's not wrong," Adeen said, "though I'm surprised she admitted it. Now tell me. Why do you need to visit the catacombs?"

"Research. I want to study Hive attack patterns and defensive tactics."

Adeen considered it. On the one hand, she had promised Rigel that she would take a break from the Moon. On the other hand, she really wanted to reach the Worms' Hollow. On the other hand, she didn't know how long it would take for the song to come back. On the other hand, she knew where she was going this time, so it shouldn't take as long. And she'd have a partner. A partner. She'd never worked with anyone before. Maybe it was time she did.

"Last question," Adeen said. "What's your name?"

"Naeda Tanejak."

"Well then, Naeda, when do you want to leave?"

####################

They had agreed to meet at The Gatehouse in two days. As she thought, Rigel had been against it, but she eventually convinced him, promising she'd take an even longer break once they got back. She left the next day to prepare the surface camp and clear out any Hive that had ventured back into the area.

Naeda arrived exactly on time. Now that she wore armor, Adeen saw that the other woman was also a Warlock. She probably should have expected that. Hunters or Titans wanting to do research? Crazy talk.

"If you wanted to start sooner, you should have just told me," Naeda said, walking into the small camp.

"Just wanted to get here early and clear out the entrance," Adeen said with a shrug. "So how deep do you feel like going?"

"I told Ikora I'd be back in two weeks with a report. How far can we go and still get back in time?"

Adeen thought for a moment. Two weeks probably wasn't enough time to get to the Worms' Hollow and back. That would just have to wait for another day. Maybe The World's Grave? She would probably love seeing the library.

"I know a place. Hive library, shouldn't take more than a week to get there and back. I've been a few times, and the opposition is always pretty stiff. Should give you a good look at how they defend their tunnels."

"That sounds good," Naeda said. "Getting out early gives me more time to write that report."

"Then if you're ready, let's get going," Adeen said. The other woman nodded, and they prepped their gear. In just a few minutes, they entered the Gatehouse.

Naeda seemed really tense when they first entered, constantly looking around and keeping her auto rifle ready. Adeen, on the other hand, held Thorn loosely in her hands and seemed more like we was taking an afternoon stroll than descending into a Hive fortress. After a few minutes, Naeda looked over at Adeen.

"How can you be so calm?" she asked.

"I cleared this area out yesterday," Adeen said. "I didn't want to be bothered while setting up camp."

"And you're not worried that they've returned already?"

"It usually takes The Hidden Swarm a few days to replace one of their surface patrols. You can put that in your report if you want."

Adeen couldn't see the other woman's face, but she suspected Naeda was giving her a look. The Awoken didn't comment further, but Adeen did notice her relax just a tiny bit. Five minutes later, they reached the gate that would lead them to the Circle of Bones.

"Alright, this is as far as I cleared yesterday," Adeen said. "We're officially in a combat zone."

Naeda didn't say anything, but she did tense up again. They encountered enemies two minutes later. A Wizard, two Knights, a dozen Acolytes, and a whole bunch of thralls.

As she always did, Adeen targeted the Wizard first. A well-thrown Fusion grenade removed its shields, and a few shots from Thorn took it down. Normally she'd try for the Knights next, but the thralls were about to swarm her and Naeda. Speaking of Naeda, Adeen spared a quick glance at her. The other Warlock stood there, clutching her rifle but not shooting.

"Naeda!" Adeen yelled as she took a few shots at incoming thralls. That seemed to get her attention, and she quickly began mowing down enemies. With them being taken care of, Adeen focused her attention back to the Knights.

She glided up into the air and threw a Fusion grenade at one of them. The damn thing erected one of its barriers and blocked it. Adeen frowned and shifted attention to the other one, taking potshots at it as she fell to the ground. Naeda had taken out the thralls and started shooting at Acolytes, so Adeen kept on the Knights. It only took a few minutes to finish them off.

"So mind if I ask what happened?" Adeen asked, collecting some ammo.

"What do you mean?" Naeda asked.

"You froze up at the beginning. I don't really care why, I just want to know if it'll happen again."

"No, it shouldn't." She hesitated for a second. "I'm just not used to seeing so many Hive at once."

"That's a pretty common defensive group," Adeen said.

"Really?" Naeda asked. "That seemed like a lot of troops for one patrol."

"Surprisingly, they only add more the deeper you get. They really don't want us snooping around in their inner chambers."

"And you come down here on your own? Willingly?"

"Yep. Only place I can learn more. The Hive are planning something awful, and I need to find out what."

"What makes you say that?" Naeda asked.

"It's just...a feeling?" Adeen said, unsure how to really explain. She'd never had to before. "Coupled with Toland's writings and a healthy dose of spending time down here. Once you get deeper, you start feeling rumblings of something, notes of a far-off song that terrifies you but makes you want to hear more. Just as much as the Black Garden, the Darkness truly is alive down here." She paused for a moment before speaking again. "Come on, let's keep going. I know of a good place to make camp, but it'll take a few hours to get there."

They moved out. Neither said much until they reached the campsite later that day.

The rest of their expedition went rather well, all things considered. No one died, which was a success in Adeen's book. They reached the library in three days, spent a day there, and took three days back. It had no benefit for Adeen, but from the look of it, Naeda had a lot to put in her report. Hopefully Ikora listened to Naeda more than she did Adeen. Maybe then, the Vanguard would take the Hive threat a little more seriously.

Everything she had told Naeda on that first day was absolutely true. She knew it must be. The Hive were the greatest threat to the Light, and Adeen would do everything in her power to stop them. She was a Guardian, after all.


	6. Hollow Victory

**A/N: So last chapter, I totally forgot to credit my friend, blangyouredead over on tumblr, as the creator of Naeda. You should go check out some of her fics. This chapter also has a friend's OC: eliashaverson's Hollow-4. I'd tell you to check out more of him, but he's a nerd and doesn't write.** **One last thing! I commissioned the amazing amipiai on tumblr to draw Adeen! (just add a "/" between the "com" and the numbers and remove the spaces)**

 **36 . media . tumblr . com 1b83c7491e0e30575e348ef240b81299/tumblr_nr3i5e27QY1rmegpio1_**

 **Anywho, I'll shut up now. Enjoy!**

 **Hollow Victory**

Adeen was bored out of her mind. She was currently a week into a self-imposed "vacation" from the Moon, for lack of a better term. After that last trip with Naeda, she had promised Rigel she'd take a break. Now that she was on said break, however, she was bored out of her mind. Going to the Moon and studying the Hive was all she had ever really done as a Guardian.

She couldn't take it anymore. She needed to do something. Maybe Ikora would have something for her on a different planet. Literally anything would be better than what she was doing now. She left the barracks and headed for the Vanguard's room. As she walked down the long hallway that connected it to the rest of the Tower, she heard a voice call out.

"Hey you!"

Adeen paused and looked around. There were only two people in the hallway: a frame and someone who could only be a Titan. He wore fur pauldrons and a horned helmet. Seeing as the voice certainly didn't come from the frame, it must have been him. Adeen pointed at herself, asking an unspoken question.

"Yeah, you. I haven't seen you around, Guardian. You must be new."

Adeen walked over to him. "No, not really," she said. "I've been a Guardian for just over a year."

"And I haven't seen you in the Crucible yet?" the man asked, sounding quite shocked. "What have you been doing for a year?"

That question rubbed her the wrong way. She had heard of the Crucible but had never felt it worth her time. She would never face other Guardians out in the field, so why bother training against them? If he wanted to know what she had been doing, then she'd go ahead and show him. She drew Thorn from its holster and showed it to him.

"Well, I found this."

The man recoiled. "I thought that infernal weapon was gone, banished along with its former owner."

"It's mine now, and I severed its bond with the Darkness," Adeen said. It wasn't quite true, but he didn't need to know that.

"Really now? Well then, Guardian, I must insist that you take part in an upcoming Crucible match. The return of Dredgen Yor's notorious Thorn will cause quite a stir."

"I'm not sure - "

"Just one match. Prove your worth, Guardian."

Adeen narrowed her eyes at him. She didn't like that insinuation. "Fine. One match. When and where?"

"Tonight at 1900, Twilight Gap," he said. "It will be a six person Rumble match; every Guardian for themself."

"I'll be there."

What on Earth had she just gotten herself into?

A few hours later, she was about to find out. Just outside of the actual arena, there was a preparatory building. There, Guardians getting ready to enter a match could take care of their gear, mentally prepare themselves, and scope out the competition. Adeen did none of that. Instead, she had Rigel go over the rules. Again.

"It's live-fire, and in this match, it's a six person free for all. Most kills in 5 minutes wins."

"So we can die in there?" she asked again. It sounded crazy.

"Yes and no," Rigel said. "Yes you can 'die,' but I'll be waiting on the sidelines to revive you after a certain amount of time. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, but it still sounds crazy. Dying is something I tend to avoid."

"I know, but unlike the catacombs, there's actually enough Light here for me to bring you back. So you're not really dying, per say. Just...taking a break from living for a few seconds."

Adeen gave Rigel a Look. "Thanks, Ri," she said. "That makes me feel so much better."

From the other side of the room, Adeen heard an Exo Hunter mumble, just loud enough to hear, "Why's there a damn rookie in here? I thought Shaxx said this would be an interesting match."

Jeez, what was his problem? Whatever. The match was about to start. A small countdown on her HUD ticked to zero, and she was teleported into the arena. She and her five opponents materialized in front of a floating camera, and the Exo from the prep room planted a flag on the ground.

"Rumble!" Lord Shaxx announced, mostly for the audience watching at home. Then she was teleported again, and the match had officially begun. "Leave no enemy standing!"

Adeen had studied the layout of the map earlier that day, but nothing quite matched actually being there. She had no real strategy, so she picked a direction and ran. Her radar showed no enemies nearby, so she sprinted across an open area.

A brief moment of pain in her temple, then blackness.

A few seconds later, her world returned to her, and she found herself at a different place on the map.

"That Exo Hunter sniped you," Rigel muttered. "Be more careful out in the open."

That first life was an omen for the rest of the match. By all accounts, Adeen sucked at the Crucible, or at least Rumble. She was lucky to get one kill for every three lives. Her first one had been against a Human Titan. They had entered the same room from opposite sides, but he had a shotgun out. Before he could switch to something with better range, she put three shots into him. The shots alone didn't kill him, but Thorn's poison finished him off.

The second kill was a panic grenade. She rounded a corner, and an Awoken Hunter was crouching right on the other side. Without even thinking about it, she stuck a Fusion grenade to her head and immediately jumped back. The Hunter had enough time to get one scout rifle shot off before it exploded.

The third was another grenade. A Human Warlock walked through a door she was watching, and she just plopped one right on his chest. She was really proud of that kill.

With 15 seconds left in the match, Adeen was firmly in last place with a score of 3-11. She saw an enemy on the far edges of her radar, so she just flung a hail mary in that general direction. As the clock hit 2 seconds, her HUD pinged with a kill alert. Before she could even react to it, the round ended, and she was teleported back to the pre-game building.

Apparently it was common for Guardians to stick around after a match ended and talk to the media, but Adeen had no desire to do so. She warped back to her ship and returned to the Tower.

Later that night, she had a vid screen on for some background noise while she read some Hive files. She wasn't paying attention to the broadcast, at least not until she heard a specific report.

"Our top Crucible story tonight; Ace Hunter knocked down by rookie. Check out this phenomenal last second grenade kill that happened at tonight's Rumble match at Twilight Gap." That caused Adeen to look up. That couldn't be… Could it?

She caught the screen just as it switched to footage from the match. That definitely was her. She watched herself throw the grenade and followed it through the air. Then the camera switched to show that one Exo Hunter. He was...dancing? As the clock ran down, her grenade flew onto screen, landed right on top of his head, and exploded with two seconds left.

They then proceeded to show it again and again from every conceivable angle. Once they had exhausted the footage, the screen returned to the anchors.

"Quite the buzzer beater kill," one said.

"Oh absolutely," the other said. "I haven't seen a kill like that since Hollow himself had that ricochet throwing knife kill a few months back. I guess now he knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a highlight reel kill." Both anchors laughed.

"Speaking of Hollow, we have interview footage of him from after the match."

The screen switched over to footage of an interviewer and the Exo Hunter, apparently named Hollow.

"So tell me, Hollow, how'd you feel about today's match?" the reporter asked.

Hollow chuckled. "Well, I won, so I feel pretty damn good," he said.

"And what about that grenade kill that cut your celebration short? Any thoughts on that?"

"Well, it was certainly impressive, but it was all luck. I'd like to see them do that again when they're not too busy coming in last place."

The screen returned to the two anchors. "Bold words from Hollow-4, but we wouldn't expect any less."

"We attempted to reach out to Adeen Flanagan, the Warlock who achieved this highlight-reel kill, but she left the arena before we could speak with her."

"Well, hopefully we'll see her back in the Crucible soon."


End file.
